Page:Notes on New Zealand (1892).pdf/56

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New Zealand may be said to have no native animals or reptiles with the sole and insignificant exceptions of the Maori rat, and a small, red-backed, venomous spider, which exists in the bush near the sea. The famous wild pig of New Zealand was originally introduced by Captain Cook, and affords exciting hunting. The goats which run wild near Hawke's Bay were also imported, and so were hares and the rabbits of which so much is heard. These, which I have mentioned, may be said to be the only wild animals in New Zealand, unless,